Can a new drug ease bulging eyes in thyroid disease?
NCT ID NCT07720635
First seen Jul 22, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This phase 3 trial tests whether the experimental drug KHN939 can reduce eye bulging and other symptoms in people with moderate-to-severe active thyroid eye disease. About 60 participants in China will receive either KHN939 or a placebo by infusion every three weeks for 21 weeks. The main goal is to see if the drug leads to a meaningful reduction in eye protrusion without worsening the other eye.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- an experimental drug called KHN939
- What this could lead to
- If it works, KHN939 could offer a new treatment option for thyroid eye disease, potentially reducing eye bulging and discomfort without surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a relatively small, early-phase trial, and the drug may not prove more effective than placebo. Possible side effects are still being evaluated.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Aged 18-70 years (inclusive) at the time of signing the informed consent form (ICF), male or female 2. Weight between 45 kg and 100 kg 3. Diagnosed with moderate-to-severe active TED: * Proptosis ≥18 mm, accompanied by at least one of the following: (a) eyelid retraction ≥2 mm; (b) moderate to severe soft tissue involvement; (c) intermittent or continuous diplopia * CAS ≥ 3 points * Duration of active TED symptoms ≤12 months prior to screening (documented by patient history or medical records) 4. Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test during screening and agree to use an effective method of contraception from screening until 90 days after the last dose of the study drug. (Note: Women of non-childbearing potential, defined as surgically sterile or postmenopausal, are exempt.) Male participants must agree to use birth control from screening until at least 90 days after the dose of study drug. 5. Able to comply with all protocol-required procedures, examinations, and symptom reporting. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Known hypersensitivity to any component of the study drug formulation, or prior hypersensitivity to any monoclonal antibodies 2. Proptosis at Day 1 (pre-dose) that has decreased by ≥2 mm relative to screening 3. CAS at Day 1 (pre-dose) that has decreased by ≥2 points relative to screening 4. Ocular conditions: * Prior or investigator-assessed diagnosis of dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) at screening * Corneal involvement in the study eye without improvement after appropriate treatment * Prior orbital radiotherapy or surgery for TED in the study eye (including orbital decompression, strabismus correction, eyelid correction) * Requires immediate or planned ophthalmic surgical intervention during the study period * Has any pre-existing ocular condition (e.g., high myopia, anticipated cataract surgery) that, as determined by the investigator, would preclude study participation or complicate the interpretation of study results; 5. Prior/concomitant treatments: * Cumulative corticosteroid use for TED ≥1 g methylprednisolone equivalent. \[Note: Participants receiving \<1 g and discontinued ≥30 days prior to screening are eligible\] * Corticosteroid use within 30 days of screening (except topical, intranasal, inhaled, or intra-articular) * Periorbital/periocular corticosteroid injection within 90 days of screening * Corticosteroid or non-steroidal immunosuppressant eye drops within 7 days of screening * Oral or IV non-steroidal immunosuppressants within 90 days of screening * Prior anti-CD20 antibody, IL-6 receptor antibody, teprotumumab, or teprotumumab N01 at any time * Any other investigational TED treatment (including IGF-1R or TSHR-targeting biologics) at any time * Need for selenium or vitamin supplementation for TED treatment from 21 days pre-dose through study end (multivitamins are permitted) 6. Medical history/conditions: * Medical conditions that contraindicate study drug use, including: suspected or confirmed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), coagulopathy, Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) within 180 days, acute myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina, or CABG/PCI within 180 days, severe arrhythmia, or severe systemic infection * Malignancy (treated or untreated) within 5 years prior to screening, except for the following cured or non-metastatic conditions: cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cervical or prostate carcinoma in situ (CIS), papillary thyroid carcinoma * Uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c ≥8.0% at screening, or initiation of a new diabetes medication, or a \>10% dose adjustment to an existing diabetes medication within 60 days prior to screening) * Poorly controlled thyroid function: defined as FT3 or FT4 deviating ≥50% from local laboratory normal range (≥1.5×ULN or ≤0.5×LLN) * Uncontrolled hypertension: defined as SBP ≥160 mmHg or DBP ≥100 mmHg; renal artery stenosis; or other evidence of clinically unstable blood pressure * 12-lead ECG with a heart rate \<50 or \>100 bpm and evidence of active cardiac disease; or any screening ECG abnormality that, in the investigator's opinion, confounds subsequent interpretation, particularly QTcF \>450 ms in males or \>470 ms in females 7. Laboratory exclusions at screening: * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \>3 × ULN * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \>3 × ULN * Serum creatinine(Cr) ≥1.5 × ULN, or glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \<30 mL/min/1.73 m² (MDRD formula) 8. Clinically significant ear disease, prior ear surgery, hearing impairment, or abnormal pure-tone audiometry (defined as a mean bone conduction threshold ≥25 dB at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz, or ≥40 dB at any frequency) 9. Positive for HBsAg with HBV-DNA \>1000 IU/mL or currently receiving anti-HBV therapy; positive for HIV antibody or HCV antibody; or active syphilis 10. Participation in any drug, vaccine, or device clinical trial within 3 months prior to screening, or currently within follow-up or within 5 half-lives of another study 11. Female subjects who are pregnant or lactating 12. Any other condition deemed by the investigator as inappropriate for study participation
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200135, China
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